I have noticed that most of the entries on the site are only summaries of what we have been up to. This page is dedicated to putting more depth and significance into moments that may only be briefly alluded to on our blog. These snippets are taken directly from our journals with a little editing (dont worry…they will not be too personal
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6/4 - Reignite
Where are you now that I don’t feel you? We used to talk. I used to know you. Now I haven’t a clue. You’re supposed to be perfect so apparently the fault is mine. I don’t know if that makes this harder or easier to deal with. I’ve admitted I’m wrong. I’ve humbled myself before you. Yet somehow I still don’t feel it. What am I doing wrong? I wish you would tell me, but you’re rather silent. What a pain it is to believe and yet not feel connected. How difficult it is to sit alone in the dark, feeling paralyzed by faith. I’m so angry I feel like I should just forget the whole thing, and I even tried. But you wouldn’t let me would you? That became pretty clear. But why should I try again? Because I don’t have the heart to try one more false start in life. It’s been so hard to get it right. It seems like the moment I catch up the farther you fly. Am I wasting my time?…Am I wasting yours? You’ve got nothing but time. And so you wait patiently for me. Or so I’m told. Gently I reach out my hand, not expecting much. Did you take it? I know I felt something. For a short moment I felt that spark. The fire it kindles is so bright, and I’ve longed to feel it’s warmth. And there it is, always burning; always waiting. Why try to deny it? A spirit can suffer and it can soar. After all, hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. What once flew can fly again. What is now ashes can once again be vibrant flame. All it takes is faith.
-Adam
4/17 - Desert Dreams Normally I don’t like deserts that much. They seem barren and unnecessarily hot to me most of the time, and when I enter regions like this the sun often makes me feel sluggish and with no desire to do anything but lay around. With this mindset I wasn’t particularly excited about going to the Atacama desert, but thought I’d give it a try anyway as now would have been my best opportunity to see it. What I found was not what I had anticipated. There was something about this town that I found fascinating. It had a certain openness and honesty to it that made it very appealing to me. Just wandering around it’s dusty streets watching people go about their business and dogs laying in the sun made me think “This is what a real desert is like”. Being able to explore the surrounding land by bike proved to be a very tempting idea.
So over the course of a day we’d managed to bike to the Valle de la Luna and see the sunrise over its pristine lonely landscape. I sight to behold for sure. Once back in town everyone went off to rest for most of the afternoon. For some reason I couldn’t nap. Very odd since I’d been awake since 2 a.m. (not by choice by the way). I actually thought about going out riding some more but figured I’d wait for the rest of the group to wake up. I knew where I wanted to go, but it seemed fair to wait. Finally they woke up but had no real idea of where they wanted to go and we only had two hours before we had to return the bikes. I mentioned my intended destination but they decided to ask a local tourist representative for any ideas. She gave a few and we set off. It sounded like everyone else was heading in one direction, but I still kind of wanted to go see the old fortress that the guidebook had described. I mentioned so and when the turnoff came I went and didn’t look back. Riding alone down the dusty road in the late afternoon I eagerly pedalled on to my destination. I reached it quicker than I thought I would. This old Inca fortress sat on top of a large hill and offered a view of the whole town and surrounding country. For whatever reason I felt the urge to go on, so I rode right past it and on down the road into the large gorge on the outskirts of town. The road was bumpy and went through several streams, but as I passed by the numerous plants and mountains it became very peaceful. Except for the occasional passing truck there was no one around. I casually enjoyed the ride down road, passing a large cross on a hill. I can think of at least three crosses in this town that aren’t anywhere near a church. These people seem to take their faith very seriously and it becomes a very deep central part of their lives. It’s rather inspiring to watch from a distance, even if I personally just can’t relate to it.
At last I reached my destination: an old Inca settlement named Catarpe. It appeared deserted yet the stone houses were fully intact for tourist exploration. I felt my heart stir. I love wandering through places like this and eagerly set forward. The fact that I had the place to myself made it all the more exciting…or so I thought. I turn one corner and am suddenly assaulted by a ravenous dog. Heart in my throat I jump backward. Fortunately the dog is on a chain and can’t reach me. I turn to go when I hear a voice. A little old Chilean man comes out and approaches me, telling his dog to back off. He begins talking with me and I discover he actually lives at the ruins as a kind of caretaker or something. He doesn’t speak a word of English, but was amazingly friendly and I did my best to converse with him. After a bit he eagerly invited me into his yard to see his animals. He had pens loaded with large bunnies and sheep that he encouraged me to take pictures of. I didn’t understand a word he said but I’m sure it went something like “Come! See my rabbits! See my sheep!” I couldn’t help but smile as this little guy darted around like a little kid who’s thrilled to show you his “secret hideout” or something. I felt like I could have spent hours there. Unfortunately my time was running out so I said goodbye to the man and started riding back to town.
I had forty minutes to get to town and it had taken longer than that for me to get out here. But I knew the way now so I shifted gears and gunned it. And somehow I got in the zone. I’m racing over mounds and bumps like they’re nothing. I’m surging through wide streams in two seconds, water splashing all the way up my back. I’m racing forward with vigor and speed that really shouldn’t come from a person who’s running on one hour of sleep. But the blessed adrenaline rush carried me through my wild ride, and I took joy in every moment of it. I got back to San Pedro with fifteen minutes to spare. I’d gone 8 kilometres in 25 minutes. I don’t know if that’s good but it felt awesome to me. A quick shower and I was ready for dinner, my experience still humming in my mind: possibly my favourite while in this small town and surely one I’m always going to remember.
-Adam
4/9 - Time out of mind
It seems so odd sometimes. How can there be so much beauty in the world and so few of us take the time to discover it? Roughly 20% of Americans own passports and the majority of their use goes towards breif jaunts to Mexico or Canada. I’m not sure what the real reason for us not traveling the world is. We get to caught up in work and never make time to step out of our boundaries. Maybe we’re afraid of traveling in areas we know so little about. Or maybe we are completely content with our own country and see no need to experience something different. Don’t get me wrong: I love America and would never live anywhere else, but there is so much this planet has to offer and our wonderful country is just one piece of it. When I think of the amazing things I’ve seen so far on this trip I don’t regret coming for a second.
Iguazu Falls will rank among one of my favorite destinations of all time I’m sure. This small park that spans two countries is truly awe inspiring. It’s like my most vivid fantasies brought to life in a spectacular way that I would have never predicted. Walking through intensely green sub-tropical rainforest with the gentle sound of water rushing around you brings a very peaceful feeling and that first sight of dozens of majestic falls emerging out of the trees is something that will live with you forever. I’ve never seen beauty like this. It’s like a whole other world. And the crowning achievenment is the catwalks above the Gargantua del Diablo. To see and hear the roar of the water as it cascades over the side is an awesome experience. You can literally feel the power as it tumbles. Hundreds of people visit this site; often that many in one day. And yet when you come upon this incredible view it’s like you’re the only one there and you’ve discovered something for the first time. It’s as if this spot had remained completely untouched by human hands and looked exactly as it did centuries ago. Timeless and everlasting.
The ruins of San Ignacio bring similar feelings. Walking among these preserved yet dilapidated ruins is like a trip back in time. Being the adventure junkey I am I’m always captivated by ruins of the past, imagining what it had been like to live there so many years ago and see the people who called this amazing stone labyrinth their home. I make up stories and play them out in my mind, of lost races and ancient times, of battles and heroes and villans and grand discoveries. I could have sat at home and watched a movie or read a book, but nothing quite accheives the same effect as being there yourself. Seeing the tumbled stones weathered by time and the elements, walking among ivy that has grown up, around, and even through the rock, this place may be may be a hot tourist destination, but part of it seems completely forgotten by time and the world. When you’re there it seems like a little piece of a grander storey and it belongs only to you. There are very few things I could have done at home that could give me that kind of feeling.
-Adam
2/28 - Castro on the Island of Chiloe
Seven weeks…as of tomorrow we will have been here for seven weeks. It´s almost daunting just how much time that actually is. When I look back to the earilest events of this trip like flying into Buenos Aires and busing down the Atlantic Coast to Ushuaia it seems like a long time ago. Being in college and living a more normal existence seems like a lifetime ago. And what really amazes me is that we are still more or less in the early stages of our trip. We’ve changed as a result of being here. That much is certain. We’ve gotten used to the constant moving around. The hectic lifestyle of never knowing exactly what we’re going to be doing in the next week or even the next day. It has been a roller-coaster, with all that implies. There have been difficult days right alongside the good ones, but I still am happy I made the decision to do this. Everything that has happened has taught me something…or reminded me of a lesson I might have forgotten. If there is one thing I miss though about the states it would be the hugs. They are in short supply down here. But with all the new things to discover this has definitely been worth it. I can only wonder what the coming days will bring us.
-Adam
2/24 - Ferry ride from Chaiten to Castro
The vastness of the ocean surrounds me. I look ahead to where the ferry is taking me. All I see is water and tiny islands. I look behind me, from the place where I have left from, and see the rugged coastline of sourthern Chile. Rugged is only a polite term for the obnoxious mountians that rise out of the water. I wonder what it would have been like for people arriving here by boat for the first time. I imagine the insane landscape would have placed doubts in the minds of even the most adventerous. I can imagine the faces of the sailors as they look at each other and wonder where the hell they are going to dock.
Wildlife flourishes in these waters. Every once in a while, dolphins pop up out of nowhere. Seals can be seen playing in the open water. Sea birds swim everywhere. The sun will set soon. It feels like the last scene from the Lord of the Rings when Frodo leaves to go with the elves into the west. This whole adventure is just like this ferry ride; it is a transition. I leave behind mountains of adventure, mountains or work, mountains of life. I am on this trip and wonder where is this trip taking me? It is a transition from child to adult, from boy to man. After this journey ends, I will dock somewhere. I will enter a new life, a changed person.
-Jordan
2/10 - Laguna de los tres (by the base of Mount Fitz Roy)
I am sitting on the precipice. Down below me, waterfalls roar, filling up the most beautiful blue lake one could ever hope to see. The lake sits directly beneath me, hundreds of feet beneath me. I look up and see a beautiful glacier sitting beneath the granite towers of Fitz Roy. The sky is blue and the sun bears down to warm my heavenly boulder chair. Yes, I am sitting on the precipice. My old life is now but a dream. I vaguely remember the days of writing papers…waking up at 8:00 in the morning to go to class, coming home at 11:00 at night, my life seemingly ticking by without my permission. None of that matters in this moment. All of the past and all of the future drifting out of consciousness and into the blue lake beneath me. When God creates moments like these, all one needs to do is to bask in the glory of the heavenly moment and worship and thank the God of such amazing things. What have I done to deserve such beauty? Today is a gift.
-Jordan
2/8 - Perito Moreno Glacier:
The ice walls reach a height of 50 - 55 meters. The glacier rumbles as large chunks of ice continue to fall into the amazing blue water below. And as each majestic chunk falls, hundreds of people scramble to the edge of the wooden railing to catch a glimpse. Hundreds of tourists, everywhere, witness God´s incredible display. Surrounded by all these people, all with digital cameras and video cameras, I find myself sitting here wishing I had this all to myself. Wishing that I had just arrived here from a long exhausting trek through the mountains, and accidentaly stumbled across this obnoxiously beautiful glacier. All of these people create a barrier between me and this place. It feels as if I am sitting on the couch at home watching a television program about the amazing glacier rather than fully experiencing the awesomeness in person.
-Jordan